by Lexi Blake
“But we only spent fifteen hundred on plumbing.” She was staring down at the papers.
“We’re going to have to replace the water heater in a year or so, but the rest of the plumbing is good. Now, the electrical is going to be different.” He would have continued, but he found himself with an armful of happy blonde. Sera wrapped herself around him and kissed his cheek.
“I can’t believe it. We passed something,” she said with a laugh.
He whirled her around. “We passed. We’re going to pass all of it. This house is going to shine when we’re through.”
Her head came back so she could look him in the eyes. “Harry, I’m starting to wonder if maybe I might keep it.”
That was exactly what he was looking for. He wanted her to have choices. He was getting to like it around here, starting to think this could be a great place to settle down and raise a family. “I think that’s a fine thing to consider.”
“Thank you for this.”
He set her on her feet and she stared up at him. He didn’t want her to go but knew she took her time with Luc seriously. She’d been gone all day. She would need to spend time with him. “You’re welcome. Why don’t you show me that pretty dress and then you can get home? I’m going to stay here awhile and work on the bathroom. Now that we know the plumbing’s good, we should think about what you want in the master.”
“How about you take the night off and we go to dinner?”
He wanted that more than anything. He loved being out in the open with her, loved being able to show that they were together. The people around them were still openly gawking, but they would get used to them as a couple. But there was a problem. “Don’t you need a sitter for Luc?”
“He likes to eat, too. Maybe we could all go out. We could go to Guidry’s if you want to.”
If they went to Guidry’s, it wouldn’t be long before Remy or Lisa came out and stole the baby away. No. He wanted the whole experience if she was going to let him. “I would love to take you to dinner. You and Luc. But I want to go somewhere else. Someplace your family doesn’t own and my cousin doesn’t frequent. He’s getting back into Papillon this evening and he’ll head straight for the bar.”
“Agreed,” she said. “Because you know my brother or sister-in-law will whisk Luc away, and I think it would be good for the two of you to get to know each other. If you want to. He’s still a pretty messy eater.”
That’s what he wanted to hear. “I can handle it.”
“And maybe if you want to, you could stay the night at my place. I know it seems weird because my mom is—”
“I would love that,” he said before she could talk herself out of it. He seriously doubted Delphine would have a problem with it because she’d already started to treat him like free labor. Maybe not free exactly, but her incredibly delicious bacon and grits came with the price of unclogging sinks and making sure the back porch door didn’t squeak. “How about I stop by Beaumont House to get Shep and an overnight bag and I’ll pick you and Luc up in half an hour.”
She stepped back and looked almost shy. “I think you’ll like Luc.”
He needed to make something plain to her. “I already like Luc. I’m thrilled to get to spend some real time with him. I know you think you need to wait six months to see if this is serious, but I promise you, it’s serious. I’m serious about you and that means I’m serious about him, too.”
“A lot of men are hesitant to take on a kid.”
“I’m not a lot of men.” He knew what he wanted and it was her.
“I’m starting to believe that.” She went on her toes and brushed a kiss along his lips. “And I’m starting to believe this can work between us. Your aunt doesn’t hate me.”
He had a lot to thank his aunt for. “I don’t see how anyone can hate you.”
“I know at least one person who did at the end.” She stepped back. “I’ll see you in a little while. And you should expect to tell me how good I look in my new dress. And modest. Apparently modesty is very important to your family.”
She turned and walked back toward the door, those papers in her hand.
Harry watched her, a smile on his face because everything he wanted was so close. All he had to do was reach out and grab it.
* * *
***
“Welcome home, Mrs. Beaumont.” Annemarie held open the door as Celeste walked through.
It was good to be home. It was nice to have her housekeeper smile at her for once. Servants should be serious. That’s what Ralph had always said.
Ralph had been . . . what would Sera have called him? No. She should find her own words. Wasn’t that what being her age was about? She’d paid her dues and now she could be who she wanted to be. Ralph had been an ass.
“Thank you, Annemarie.” She took a deep breath, letting the heavenly scent of something roasting wash over her. “What is Cook making for dinner? Because it smells delicious.”
Servants also weren’t supposed to be praised. She’d spent the hours driving back from New Orleans contemplating the day and much of her life, as she’d been inclined to do for the last several months. She was sure her mother-in-law would tell her that thinking was a waste of time. Of course, her mother-in-law wouldn’t have spent a good portion of the afternoon with a woman like Seraphina Guidry.
Like so many other things, she would have been wrong. She should have done this years ago, when it was obvious Wes was infatuated with the girl. She still didn’t believe Sera would have been right for Wes, but she might do well for Harry. The young woman had some rough edges, but nothing that time and patience wouldn’t smooth out. It was obvious she was crazy about Harry and not at all eager to try to fit into the Beaumont family for any other reason than she wanted to please her boyfriend. It would have been far smarter for Sera to have gone out of her way to please Celeste.
She had not. It had been refreshing. Sera had a quick wit and didn’t mind stating her opinion once she’d relaxed a bit and realized no one was going to murder her. Celeste could have sworn the young lady asked if there was tarp around. She’d been charming, and the truth was she’d reminded Celeste a lot of her sister.
“It’s roast chicken, potatoes, and a salad, I believe.” Annemarie closed the door. “Your daughter returned safely, though Harry left a note. I believe he is spending the evening out.”
He’d called her moments before and told her not to expect him home. She’d told him to be discreet. He’d asked her what that word really meant. Silly boy, but then the times had changed and no one would think much about Harry and Sera spending the night together since she’d practically put her stamp of approval on the relationship.
It was odd how she’d softened. She’d gone into the whole thing with a mind to manipulate, but Harry was happy. Shouldn’t he be allowed to be happy? She’d spent the last forty years of her life being terrified of making a mistake, of stepping slightly out of line and losing everything.
And then she’d stood in that design house where her mother-in-law had forced her to go twice a year for new clothes. Where her mother-in-law and the designer had consistently clucked about how she was overweight or underweight, how her skin was too sallow or she smiled too much. Where on more than one occasion she’d been forced to smile through one of her husband’s “friends” talking down to her.
It had occurred to her when she’d seen that guard walking toward Sera that this could be the moment she broke the girl. She could manipulate the situation so Sera thought she’d caused it, or even though she’d been perfectly innocent, there would be no justice for her. Yes, that might have caused her to run away.
She’d known she could break Sera the way she’d been broken.
In that moment she’d wondered who would try to break Angela. She’d already cracked. Angela had lived under many of the same rules. Did she want that for her daughter? Did she want that for
any woman?
“Mom?” Angie came down the stairs.
Her baby girl looked so pretty in her dress and cardigan. Celeste held her arms open. “Hello, my darling. How was Sedona? You look lovely. Doesn’t my daughter look pretty, Annemarie?”
“She does, Mrs. Beaumont. That color suits her nicely,” Annemarie said with a gracious smile.
Angie started to give her the air kiss she was used to, but Celeste wanted more. She drew her daughter in and hugged her like she hadn’t in years. Angie was stiff for a moment, but then her arms wrapped around her and she laid her head on Celeste’s shoulder. “It was good. The spa was beautiful. Did I say thank you for sending me and my friends?”
She kissed her baby girl’s head and stepped back. “I was happy to do it. Was the plane okay?”
“It was wonderful.” Angie glanced over at Annemarie. “Could I have a moment alone with my mother?”
Annemarie nodded. “Of course. I’ll go and see if Cook needs any help. I believe dinner is in half an hour.”
“Thank you so much,” Celeste said, taking her daughter’s hand and leading her into the study. “Would you like a glass of wine? I’ve told Annemarie I would like to have wine or a cocktail in the study every evening.”
“I thought you said wine was only for special occasions.”
“I’ve changed my mind on a couple of things,” she said, crossing to where the bottle of Cab had been properly decanted and waiting to be poured. “I’ve decided I’m close enough to death that every day should be celebrated.”
“Mom,” Angie said, sounding shocked.
She poured two glasses of wine. “Well, it’s true.”
Angie took the drink like she needed it. “What is going on with you? I leave for a week, and when I come back, it appears the world has turned upside down. I got a frantic call from the House of Hanover. Justine said you canceled all the bridesmaids’ dresses.”
“Well, I’ll probably change my mind if she apologizes and fires that uppity saleslady.”
“And I got a call from Britney Brewer that you blamed her father for something a hooker did,” Angie continued.
That man was going to pay. “Seraphina obviously isn’t a hooker. Harry doesn’t have two dimes to his name, and if Sera was making money off some other man, she would dress better than she does. Britney’s father was being a massive ass and I dealt with him. The saleslady and security guard blamed Sera for Brian being a nasty lecher. Tell me something. Has that man ever hit on you?”
She shook her head. “No, but he does make me uncomfortable from time to time. Why on earth was Sera at House of Hanover? Tell me you’re not getting her a dress for my wedding.”
“Well, if I don’t, she’s promised me she’ll show up in some sequin-encrusted jumpsuit that will make the entire wedding party look like a prison disco.”
“I don’t think that’s a thing, Mom. I’m really confused. I thought you hated Sera. I talked to Harry about it earlier. I told him he shouldn’t trust you, that you’re playing some game.”
She wasn’t surprised that was what Angela thought. It was certainly what Cal had thought, but she was curious about Harry. He hadn’t mentioned anything when they’d talked earlier. “And Harry said?”
“Harry said I was wrong and that even if I wasn’t, once you got to know Sera, you would like her.”
“I don’t know if I would say I like her.” She couldn’t quite admit it yet. Not out loud. It still felt a bit like a betrayal of Wes. “But I think I should try to be tolerant if she’s going to be around. Harry seems very taken with her. I would have thought you’d be all right with the situation. You’re the one who argued I would lose Harry if I didn’t change.”
“You don’t change.”
“I assure you I have. I wasn’t always the woman you know. I changed for your father, and now I’m thinking it wasn’t for the better.” She took a sip of the rich Cab. “Angie, I know I’ve told you in the past to not cause scenes, but you realize there’s a place for them, right? Your grandmother was wrong about some things.”
“My grandmother was a terrible person. She didn’t care about anything but appearances. No, I don’t tend to follow her rules. Dad wasn’t much better.”
“And I went along with it.”
Angie frowned. “If you hadn’t, Dad would have divorced you. Mom, what’s brought this on? I don’t understand what’s happening. Did you cancel the dress order because someone wasn’t nice to Seraphina?”
“They treated her like garbage,” she explained. She’d been able to hear her mother-in-law’s voice, clucking about how every woman in the world had to deal with a jerk like Brian Brewer, and Sera should have been gracious and found a way not to make a scene. “I know I say a lot about wearing the right clothes and presenting yourself properly, but I realized today that if my sister had walked into that store, they would have treated her the same way. Harry gets a pass because he’s an attractive young man. He’s white and handsome. My sister had her privileges, too, don’t get me wrong. But she was poor, and in our world that means she could be preyed on.”
“Did Sera slip something into your tea?” Angie asked. “You sound a little woke there, Mom.”
“Well, of course I’m awake.” She shook her head. “All I’m saying is I’ve been reminded lately that I came from humble beginnings. There were good things about that world. Sweet things. Things I miss, and I’ve started to wonder if I can’t find some of that part of me again. I realized I’m not actually offended by the sight of someone’s toes as long as they’re properly maintained. And I like dogs. I’m thinking about getting a dog. A small one, though. I think I might like a sweet companion.”
“Who are you?” The question came from her daughter’s mouth with a little bit of shock tingeing it.
Wasn’t that the question? “I’m not sure. But I think I would like to find out. I definitely think I want a different life for my granddaughters, and maybe that starts with changing what I find tolerable. Your grandmother thought it was perfectly acceptable for a man like Brian Brewer to treat a woman like Seraphina as if he had the right to whatever he wanted from her because she was below his station, but god forbid I wore the wrong shade of lipstick or expressed a damn opinion. Or use the word ‘damn’ for that matter.”
“I’m going to need more wine.” Angie poured herself another drink. “Is now a good time to tell you Austin and I have decided to put off having kids for at least five years?”
Well, that was disappointing. And also encouraging. “You want to work on your career?”
“I know everyone on Austin’s side of the family thinks I’m going to settle down and be a wife and mother, but I want something more. It’s not that I don’t—”
She held a hand up. “You do not have to explain yourself to me. Maybe I would have questioned you a few years back.”
“It was Cal and Wes’s places to make something of themselves,” Angie said tightly. “Dad told me I had it easy. All I had to do was convince someone to marry me.”
Sometimes she hated her husband. “You have a degree.”
“I know the only reason Dad paid for college was you convinced him it would be a good place for me to find a husband. But then you didn’t push me. I think you wanted me to have the degree because you didn’t. Because you knew you didn’t have any way to fight back if things went wrong. Dad controlled everything.”
“And your grandmother made sure I understood that if I left, I left with nothing. I had to sign a prenuptial contract.” There had been so many times she’d wanted to leave, wanted to find a way out, but she’d settled. “Your father never hit me. You should understand that. But he didn’t love me.”
“I don’t think Dad loved anyone,” Angie replied. “I think he had kids because it was expected. He did all the things a family of our station is supposed to do. Take good pictures. Go to church.
Raise strong sons and obedient, marginalized daughters. I want a career, Mom. I want something to fall back on.”
This was something she could do for her daughter. “I’m setting up a trust for you. It’s exactly what your father set up for Cal, and would have set up for Wes on his twenty-fifth birthday.”
Angie went still. “Are you serious? That was millions of dollars.”
Millions of dollars that would keep her daughter safe from having to make the same hard decisions she had. “Yes. Sometimes I think your father’s early passing was a miracle.”
“I know Cal thinks that way. The idea of having everything dumped in his lap would have sent Cal running. I’m fairly certain if Dad had changed his will, Cal would have handed everything right back to you.” She reached out, putting a hand on Celeste’s shoulder. “Mom, I think all of this is great. I do. I’m just surprised.”
“I think the last few years sent me reeling, but having Harry here, well, like I said, I’ve been reminded I wasn’t always this woman.”
“But I think we should be careful around Sera,” Angie said, pulling away. “She’s got a kid. I wouldn’t want the child to get hurt.”
“I don’t think Sera’s bringing the baby to the wedding events, if that’s what you’re worried about. Harry says she’s been careful about introducing him to her son.” Though it looked like the couple was taking a leap tonight. Unless they were going into New Orleans for the night, but that wasn’t the impression she’d had.
“That’s not what I meant. I meant it seems like it’s far too early for anyone to get close to that child,” Angie said, her tone going stubborn. “No one knows if it’s going to work out between the two of them. They should wait to bring the kid into it until they’re sure, and even then, I think it would be best if you didn’t get close to him. You’ve been through a lot.”
“Well, I didn’t offer to babysit.” She wasn’t sure where this was coming from. She’d barely ever mentioned Sera’s son. She wasn’t sure she remembered the child’s name. “I’ve already talked to Harry about the fact that the child’s father could return at some point and cause trouble. He didn’t seem to think that would be a problem.”